Now that St. Louis is taking a turn towards warmer weather, the WashU Farmers Market has moved back outside to the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Quad. The Farmers Market has been a staple of the WashU community since 2010, bringing new and familiar faces to campus over the years. Many of our vendors […]
Written by Communications Associate, Jarea Fang Take-out meals are the best of both worlds, a heavenly combination of restaurant food and the comfort of your own home. The demand for take-out has especially increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical distancing became the norm. Striking a balance between disease prevention and reducing […]
Written by Office of Sustainability Student Associate, Stephanie Berger, Class of 2022 While many of my classmates spent the summer working in offices or on Zoom, I spent every day of my summer outside, working as a farm apprentice at Zumwalt Acres (ZA) in Sheldon, IL. Zumwalt Acres’ mission is ambitious: cultivating the land through […]
Written by Claire Conroy, MS, RDN, LD, Special Events Coordinator – Dining Services & Business Operations At the end of the semester, some students may find themselves running out of meal points. There is no consequence to running out of meal points, and students have the option to add Bear Bucks to supplement their remaining […]
If you take a tour of the average grocery store, chances are that you will see illustrations of trees and leaves, maybe vern waterfalls and birds lurking in branding of many food products. A closer look reveals that they also have words like “natural,” “eco-friendly,” or “fresh” splashed across their label. Though you are not […]
Observing the stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic requires individuals to do whatever they can to remain at home and limit travel to necessities: acquiring food and medical care, and going to work for “essential” workers and front-line healthcare staff. As a result, going to the grocery can become an exotic pleasure – the one […]
In the wake of the recent UN Youth Summit, the UN Climate Action Summit, the Global Climate Strike, and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) happening right now in Madrid, Spain, it’s clear that climate change is on the minds of people all over the world. When it comes to climate action, discussions tend to […]
In late 2017, the Whittemore House earned certification with the Green Dining Alliance, receiving a 5-star award for its “exemplary understanding and performance of sustainable practices.” In addition to recognizing restaurants for their sustainability efforts, the Green Dining Alliance (GDA) encourages and facilitates steady progress toward low-impact practices and efficient use of resources. Audits are conducted […]
Improving food access for the city’s most vulnerable residents is one of the top priorities for the St. Louis Food Policy Coalition (STLFPC), a formal multi-stakeholder entity housed within the Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE). As part of this mission, MCE released the St. Louis Food Access Story Map to illustrate the patterns of […]
Since last fall, campus-wide efforts toward sustainability have taken hold at WashU. Thanks to successful partnerships with Bon Appétit, student groups, the Green Dining Alliance and the Office of Sustainability, WashU Dining Services has recently reached some notable milestones. Ibby’s Receives Top-Tier Sustainability Certification Last October, WashU Dining Services went through the process of certifying […]
This September, WashU Dining Services challenged its chefs to buy and cook even more local and seasonal foods than usual. Two remarkable sustainable food programs initiated by WashU’s main dining provider Bon Appetit Management Company, made their way to campus. The One Ton Tomato Challenge In the United States, more than 20% of the fruits […]
Throughout each semester, the medical students at WashU School of Medicine attend daily lunch lectures. The Operations and Facilities Management Department (OFMD) recently supported the Student Sustainability Group in their effort to reduce the waste footprint for these catered events for the first 2 weeks, when lecture attendance is highest. The student group’s leader, Alex […]
“The Last Straw” for Bon Appétit The School of Medicine campus has two major dining facilities – Shell Café in McDonnell Medical Sciences Building and Farmstead Café in McDonnell Pediatric Research Building. Both of these cafés are operated by Bon Appétit Management Company, a full food-service management company based in Palo Alto, CA. Sustainability is […]
The Burning Kumquat is the on-campus, student run, organic garden located right next door to the Alumni House on the South 40. During the school year, the farm functions as a student club involving members pitching in at workdays and selling produce at DUC markets. But in the summer, when most students are gone and […]
Spring has finally arrived in St. Louis and Dave Smith of Local Farmer CSA is excited for the new produce and beautiful weather the season brings. It’s a great time for WashU community members to check out the CSA and Farmer’s Market offerings. Each season brings new produce in the weekly farm boxes and at […]
Producing a quarter pound hamburger requires 450 gallons of water and emits 6.5 pounds of greenhouse gases, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. With the introduction of the blended burger, Dining Services is helping cut those numbers in half. A relatively recent addition to the grill stations at the Danforth University Center (DUC) and […]
As you walk up Wallace Drive from the South 40, there is a peculiar sight tucked into the landscape on your right. Tubes coming out of trees and emptying into large white buckets are almost reminiscent of an alien harvesting scene if you don’t know that they are for tapping the maple trees for sap […]
Tim Biello graduated from WashU in 2002, where he studied anthropology and biology. He now runs Featherbed Lane Farm located in the Eastern part of New York State, just north of the capital, Albany. Born in St. Louis, Tim taught environmental education and did trail work before setting his sights on owning and operating his own farm […]
It’s official! Local Farmer CSA, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Human Resources, now offers CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) Crop Boxes on Danforth campus! Farmer Dave Smith will set up his farm van and a mini market every other Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the Music Library parking […]
On July 12, the Office of Sustainability hosted a Green Office Program luncheon for Green Office Liaisons and potential program participants. The goal of the Green Office Program is to set a framework and provide resources for offices across Washington University campuses to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of our university community. Since the start […]
WashU’s annual energy reduction and sustainability competition is back! Green Cup is a four-week competition to reduce energy use among South 40 Residential Colleges, North Side housing, fraternities, and the School of Medicine’s Olin Dorm and Farrell Learning and Teaching Center (in four separate leagues). Students compete to reduce their energy usage below a baseline. […]
The holiday season is in full swing! As you catch up with family and friends over meals, we encourage mindfulness about food waste. From uneaten leftovers to blemished produce, far too much edible food goes to waste; in fact, in the United States, food waste is estimated at between 25-40 percent of the food supply. Food waste is a […]
WashU students, staff, and faculty can participate in a year-round Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program partnership with Local Farmer CSA. Program members receive a weekly or bi-weekly Crop Box filled with locally grown produce, eggs, and/or other artisan goods. Options start at $20 per box for students and $29.99 per box for employees, with pick-up sites at […]
Food Day is a national event that takes place October 24. It is intended to inspire Americans to make healthy changes in our diets and to take action to solve food-related problems in our communities. WashU is celebrating Food Day throughout the week of October 24-28 with a theme of Food Justice. We envision a food […]
The Washington University Green Ambassador (WUGA) program launched in 2013 and gives students the opportunity to become sustainability leaders across campus. This year, 30 WUGAs completed training and are volunteering across residence halls, dining facilities, and at large events to help first-year students with waste sorting and to provide sustainability resources. Over the first 40 days of the semester, they helped […]
On September 24, over 90 university students, professionals, and community members participated in the first ever St. Louis Net Impact Conference. The conference focused on how future leaders can make social and environmental change through business. The event, organized by WashU’s undergraduate Net Impact chapter, included a keynote address on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies, […]
Green Monday is a growing global movement that urges consumers to consider the environmental and public health impacts of their food choices. It began in Hong Kong and has grown to include universities and organizations across Asia, Europe, and the United States. WashU is proud to be one of the first American universities to launch […]